By Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
Something might have to give when No. 6-ranked Kingfisher (9-2) visits No. 8 Bridge Creek in a Class 2A second-round playoff game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Bobcats quarterback Ryan Spangler, a 6-foot-6 junior, has completed 183 of 299 passes for 2,769 yards and 29 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Kingfisher’s opponents have completed 81 of 203 passes for 1,054 yards and nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
“It’s going to be a challenge,’’ said Yellowjackets coach Jeff Myers. “Their quarterback is hard to get down. If you do get pressure on him, he’s deceptively elusive. The key is getting pressure on him.’’
Bridge Creek’s Caden Locke has 59 receptions for 1,279 yards and 19 TDs while Josh Pershica has 51 catches for 699 yards and five scores.
Kingfisher has given up five touchdown passes of 30 yards or more. Logan Nault, a starter in the secondary, won’t play because of an injury.
“Most of their routes are the short, quick stuff,’’ Myers said.
“We have been pretty hard on our secondary, but they have gotten better. They haven’t played too badly. The important thing for us is to play smart and not give up any big ones.’’
The Yellowjackets have allowed only 10.8 points per game.
Linebacker Rhett Blundell has 157 tackles.
“He does the stuff you can’t teach,’’ Myers said.
Defensive end Colton Cheap broke his arm in last week’s 24-3 win over Lexington and is out for the playoffs after undergoing surgery.
“That’s a big loss for us,’’ Myers said. “Fortunately we have had people who have been able to fill in this season.’’
Kingfisher has a solid passing game itself with Derek Patterson hitting 80 of 138 passes for 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Jacob Woods has caught 33 passes for 705 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Both teams have solid running games. Bridge Creek’s Blake Henderson has rushed for 1,445 yards and 26 touchdowns. Kingfisher’s Jacob York has rushed for 1,015 yards and 12 scores.
York suffered a mild concussion against Lexington but has been back at practice this week.
The Yellowjackets had 288 yards in total offense against a Lexington defense which was ranked No. 1 statistically in 2A last week.
“We feel pretty good about that,’’ Myers said.
Bridge Creek’s lone loss was to 3A Blanchard (28-12) the first week of the season.
The Bobcats have won 10 straight since, including a 78-34 win over Atoka last week.
Kingfisher has won six straight since a 17-0 loss to Heritage Hall Oct. 2. Myers points out both of Kingfisher’s losses came when Patterson and Woods were both out.
Kingfisher is 6-1 in second-round games since 2002.
They have reached the state semifinals six times in the last seven years.
“Our kids expect to be practicing at this time of the year,’’ Myers said. “We expect to be there every year.’’
The two teams are scheduled to meet in Week 8 next season in a non-district game.
The Bridge Creek-Kingfisher winner will face the Sperry-Stigler winner next week. If Kingfisher and Sperry win, Kingfisher would host the game.
